Making a difference right here in Elkhart County
These stories appear in our recent annual reports and provide a more complete story to the generosity of our community.
Connect in Elkhart County growing and connecting trails
The goal of Connect in Elkhart County is for trails and pathways to spread throughout the county much like a well-tended vine. More than 30 years ago, the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail started as a wild idea and over the last three decades has become one of the county’s most-loved and best-used trails. The former railroad corridor from Goshen to Shipshewana has a trail that is used by several hundred thousand people each year. The final stretch of the trail is being completed this fall, allowing runners, walkers, and bicyclists to traverse the 17-mile trail without riding on county roads south Read More »
Nappanee Art Path fosters community through art
As Khenan Mitchell walks the Nappanee Art Path, the two-year-old picks up pine cones or other natural treasures from the trail that winds past 125 sculptures. If something is out of place, he puts it back. He greets the sculpture of a fox, one of his favorite sculptures. “He knows when he wakes up, he gets some waffles in a cup, and takes a walk in the woods,” says his mother, Kaci, who moved back to her hometown in May 2023 with her son and her husband, Vincent. She never expected to come back to Nappanee from Indianapolis, but returned Read More »
Jimtown Community Center restoration revives beloved building
Bruce Clark looked up toward the rafters in the old gymnasium with a slight smile and a twinkle in his eye. This gym has sat near the corner of county roads 22 and 3 for all of Bruce’s life. A building went up there in the 1920s, but without a gym. “The joke in town was we were the gymless Jimmies,” says Byron Sanders, current superintendent of Baugo Community Schools. Following a fire, the building was saved and the community constructed a gym in 1929 for basketball games, but also choir concerts, pageants, and even the formation of the Baugo Read More »
Betty Chatten quietly grew wealth to share with others
For her 100th birthday party, Betty Chatten wanted three things: pizza, wine, and lots of people. She sported a sparkly pink hat with “100” on the front. Mayor Rod Roberson stopped by Brentwood at Elkhart Independent Living to celebrate a woman who was described as easygoing and kind. She was born January 21, 1920 in Milford, Indiana. During World War II, Betty helped make bandages for soldiers. From 1949 to 1959, she worked for Chatten Motor Sales, which her father Merrill owned, operated, and then sold. She went to work at First National Bank (now KeyBank) and later retired from Read More »
Honoring the life of U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski by helping others
Martha Walorski and Dean Swihart have attended many ceremonies and events honoring their beloved daughter and wife in this past year. People also still walk up to Martha, Jackie’s mother, in the grocery store, give her a hug, and tell her a story about Jackie Walorski, who died tragically in a car crash at age 58 on Aug. 3, 2022. Martha and Dean have sought their own way to honor Jackie’s legacy of faith and service, as well as her love for education. They believe she would want them to get to work helping others even as they honor her. Read More »
Sophie’s Smile inspiring others to give as she grows
Emily Stiglitz sat with her five-month-old daughter, Sophie, in a room at Riley Hospital for Children after an MRI. Sophie had awakened from sedation for the MRI on that day in January 2021. Emily thought the worst was over. A young doctor came into the room and was obviously uncomfortable. He told Emily that the MRI showed a rare brain condition. Emily got her husband, Joe, on the phone since he was waiting downstairs due to COVID restrictions. He told them Sophie’s cerebellum and pons, part of her brainstem, were smaller and underdeveloped. He told them she wouldn’t have normal Read More »
Marly’s Gift
You never know what will result when the phone rings at the Community Foundation of Elkhart County. Marlyn “Marly” Rydson had an idea for a way to honor the woman he loved in a place he loved, and picked up the phone one day in early 2021. Pete McCown, president of the Community Foundation, warmly greeted Marly and learned he wanted to honor Laura, his wife of 59 years, with a donation for a new visitors center at Wellfield Botanic Gardens. Marly encouraged the Community Foundation to also make a donation and then Wellfield’s board and staff could raise more Read More »
A Gift in Honor of Imogene
Every time Darrell Peterson climbs the stairs at Imo’s Den, the hair on his arm stands up and he sees goosebumps. It’s not fear, but awe at how the four-unit apartment building came to be thanks to the generosity of one man wanting to honor his wife. Darrell thinks of the hours it took to reclaim those worn wooden steps and other parts of the large structure to turn it into living spaces for young people as they learn skills and take on adulthood. In every apartment is a plaque honoring Keith and Imogene Rupel. Darrel, executive director of Lifeline Read More »
BizTown Inspiring Young People
It’s pretty easy for Amish Shah to point to the milestones that line the road to JA BizTown®. The Elkhart entrepreneur remembers when his father, Satish, would drop him off at Junior Achievement on Saturdays. As his father worked across the street at AccraPac, Amish caught the business bug at JA. He made a device that could crush the cans that piled up at his father’s factory and soon was riding his bicycle and knocking on doors to collect more orders. After graduating from college, someone asked Amish to teach for Junior Achievement, an organization that educates students in grades Read More »
Connect In Elkhart County Leading Efforts to Get Moving
Elkhart County is great at making things to move people. Thousands of recreational vehicles, boats, and even motorcycles come together here so that people can travel with them. Within the county, visionaries saw the possibilities in the abandoned Pumpkin Vine Railroad corridor and a rutted path along a Goshen canal to create some of the first and best paths in Indiana. New trails have emerged over the years, but now it’s time to create a world-class trail system in a community known for how it helps people get moving through Connect in Elkhart County. The Community Foundation’s Placemaking Committee is Read More »
